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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · fall · date · ruler · row · wind · pitcher · bear

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. bear — the animal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — a line
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com